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GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS,
VOL. 36,
L22402,
6 PP., 2009
doi:10.1029/2009GL040846
Satellite observations indicate rapid warming trend for lakes in California and Nevada
NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA
NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA
NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA
Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK
NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA
Tahoe Environmental Research Center, University of California, Davis, California, USA
Tahoe Environmental Research Center, University of California, Davis, California, USA
Large lake temperatures are excellent indicators of climate change; however, their usefulness is limited by the paucity of in situ measurements and lack of long-term data records. Thermal infrared satellite imagery has the potential to provide frequent and accurate retrievals of lake surface temperatures spanning several decades on a global scale. Analysis of seventeen years of data from the Along-Track Scanning Radiometer series of sensors and data from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer shows that six lakes situated in California and Nevada have exhibited average summer nighttime warming trends of 0.11 ± 0.02°C yr−1 (p < 0.002) since 1992. A comparison with air temperature observations suggests that the lake surface temperature is warming approximately twice as fast as the average minimum surface air temperature.
Received 10 September 2009; accepted 26 October 2009; published 25 November 2009.
Citation: (2009), Satellite observations indicate rapid warming trend for lakes in California and Nevada, Geophys. Res. Lett., 36, L22402, doi:10.1029/2009GL040846.
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